Ryukyu Bank to offer Yen withdrawals by foreign cards

In a move many visitors say is long overdue, the Bank of the Ryukyus will start offering yen cash withdrawals from its ATMs by Visa, Master and China UnionPay credit cards, cash cards and debit cards.

The ATMs offering this service are limited in number, and located at 19 points on Okinawa such as Naha Airport and some department stores. The Ryukyu Bank is scheduled to install about 10 more similar ATMs at their branch offices located near major sightseeing spots, and also inside some local sightseeing facilities by the end of the year.

This is the first service of its kind for a local Okinawan bank, and also very rare in all of Japan, too. ATMs will be available not only in Japanese but also English, Chinese and Korean. The ATMs will operate from 07:00 to 02:00 on weekdays and 08:00 to 21:00 on weekends.